Graphics Reporter

The Seattle Times is an award-winning newsroom with a history of producing groundbreaking journalism for a broad regional audience. Independently owned by the local Blethen family for more than 120 years, The Times has won 11 Pulitzer Prizes, the most recent in 2020. It is considered a leader among major metropolitan newsrooms, producing rapid-fire breaking news, deep and richly told narrative and explanatory stories, high-impact investigative reporting, and powerful, gripping visual journalism.

The Seattle Times, a family-owned news organization and one of the nation’s premier regional news sources, is looking for an experienced Graphics Reporter to join our Pulitzer Prize-winning newsroom. As part of our visual team, you will support our digitally focused graphics team by offering readers news and trends in an engaging, visual format.

This role calls for you to bring your own story ideas to the table, and collaborate with other reporters, editors, producers and visual journalists to create news graphics, interactive stories and data visualizations. You should be versatile, curious and digitally focused in a role at the intersection of journalism, graphics, data and technology.

Responsibilities

• Report and research original visual stories.
• Be curious and develop a diverse list of ideas that mix short-term stories with longer-term pieces.
• Inclusive mindset. For a reporter, this means cultivating diverse sources, constantly building cultural literacy and following best practices for inclusive journalism.
• Report with humanity: Use good, empathetic interview techniques to gain a better understanding of your story and the people in it.
• Identify the top visual opportunities of the day and week, in alignment with our editorial priorities.
• Identify topics that might be 'off-the-news' but of interest at the time.
• Collaborate with reporters, editors and other visual journalists to pitch ideas and complete stories.
• Think broadly about the opportunities provided by different visual formats, as well as approaches that are appropriate for deadlines.
• Create graphics and visual projects for same-day turnaround, as well as projects that may take longer.
• Work quickly and efficiently under tight deadlines, making sound decisions around story angles and technical approaches.
• Help edit other visual stories that are created in the department.
• Help reporters and editors learn new skills that will contribute to their visual storytelling.

Qualifications

We are committed to diversity and creating an inclusive newsroom and encourage members of traditionally underrepresented communities to apply. If your profile doesn’t match this job description exactly, you may still be a candidate for this position. Please let us know how your skills and experience relate to the role and its objectives in your cover letter.

• Experience: At least three years of experience working in a newsroom.
• Demonstrated experience with graphic storytelling using data visuals.
• Excellent news judgment with research and reporting skills.
• Superior skills in information design, including layout, typography, and UX.
• Excellent knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript and its libraries.
• Experience with data journalism and associated tools, such as Excel, SQL, R and Python is desirable.
• Good knowledge of the technical nuances of the digital platforms and building stories for mobile devices.
• A creative vision and willingness to share and collaborate on new ideas.
• The initiative to take on and learn new tasks in a fast-moving environment.

This position will require a background check after an offer is made and union dues be paid monthly as a condition of employment.

Founded in 1896, The Seattle Times continues its tradition as a family-owned, independent newspaper that cuts through the clutter and provides readers with timely, relevant news. As the largest newsroom in the Pacific Northwest, we serve the region with thoughtful journalism that makes a real difference in our community. And as a media solutions company, Seattle Times Media Solutions combines cutting-edge digital capabilities and service with the values and integrity of respected traditional media… with an established audience of 1.9 million. At The Seattle Times, you’ll find work that matters.

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